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Let’s be honest, match fixing in team sports is still alive. However, it was present much more in the 1970s, the golden age of the Italian-American Mafia and organized crime in general. When the Boston College point shaving scandal was revealed in 1980, the public was shocked. We were talking about amateur college athletes that were making money by fixing matches. Of course, the organizers and many others have earned even more from this illegal activity. By the way, did you know that nearly exactly 100 years before this scandal there was another big sports scandal in Baseball that made headlines in the US? We’re talking about the Louisville Grays scandal which you should check out too.
Simply put, this scheme was designed by a few American mobsters and executed with the help of several Boston College Eagles men’s basketball players, including Rick Kuhn. The main objective was to avoid covering the point spread suggested by the bookies. Some bettors that were involved in the process have reportedly won tens of thousands of dollars.
The plan
Two brothers and low-ranking mafia members and gamblers were the masterminds behind the Boston College point shaving scandal. Rocco and Anthony Perla have used the hot summer months of 1978 to develop a clever plan focused on match fixing. They have figured out that they can earn big money on betting if they bribe several college players. The fact that Rocco knew Richard Kuhn from his high-school days made the plan easier. Luckily, Rick Kuhn was interested too.
After a short period, Rick Kuhn contacted Jim Sweeny, the team’s captain. What’s worth mentioning is that they didn’t want to fix all matches, only the ones where the Boston College Eagles team was a favorite. This means that the point spread was big and the only thing that Kuhn should do is ensure that the team doesn’t meet the point spread. For instance, when the point spread was ten points in favor of the Boston College Eagles, Rick did his best to make sure that the team didn’t win by nine points or less. He received a fixed amount of money for his effort (around $9000 today).
The execution
After they’ve recruited the main players, the Perla brothers have made a business relationship with Paul Mazzei, a well-known name in the world of gambling, at least in New York. He could get in touch with Henry Hill, an American mobster who worked for the Lucchese crime family. Hill led them to another Lucchese crime family associate – James Burke, a.k.a. Jimmy the Gent. This man oversaw the payments, and he also created a network of bookies who knew about the criminal scheme. The reason for the creation of this network was simple. If you place large amounts of money on seemingly illogical bets, no bookmaker will accept them. That’s why they have used the network to place smaller bets across America. On top of that, if anything goes wrong (bookmakers that refuse to pay the winnings), they had the support of the mobsters and thugs.
All these people (except for Burke and Hill) met in Boston on November 16, 1978, for the first time. Rick Kuhn has confirmed that he and several other players are on board. One of the things that attracted the players was shaving points, not losing the games.
The match fixing
So, after a few months, the first fixed match from the Boston College point shaving scandal was about to start. Boston College played against Providence on December 6 back in 1978. The point spread was set at six to seven points. Even though Richard Kuhn tried to make the team win with fewer points, the result was different. Namely, the team won by 19 points. The Perla Brothers and the rest of the mobsters were mad, but they have also realized that they needed more players on their side to make this plan work. Rumors are that Kuhn tried to recruit Ernie Cobb, the player who scored the most in that game, but in the end, there was no evidence that this player worked for the mafia. Meanwhile, Hill (instructed by Burke) threatened players who have previously confirmed that they’ll provide the desired result.
It seems that the combo of threats and new recruitments was working because the match against Harvard was a success. It was played on December 16, and Boston College won by just three points, although it was expected to win with twelve or more points. The players got their money, and so did the mobsters. A week later, there was another successful match, this time against UCLA. In this case, UCLA was the favorite (15 to 18-point spread). So, the Boston College players were asked to lose with even more points which they did (22 points). This was a massive success because the mafiosos have invested a lot of money in this match.
At this point, some bookmakers have become suspicious. The men involved in the scheme were quite experienced, and that’s why they have made changes to their plan. So, they have asked players to do their best to cover the spread in matches where the Eagles were the better team. For instance, in their game against Connecticut, played on January 17, 1979, Boston College was given a 5-point spread, but they’ve won by 10 points. In other words, the mission was accomplished.